It was 2003 when audiences last saw funnyman Mike Myers on the big screen, and it's not hard to figure out why. That whole "Cat in the Hat" debacle would make anybody want to run and hide behind a voiceover microphone for a while.

You've got to say this much about the "Saturday Night Live" veteran, though: He hasn't let his five years away from the camera -- let's call it his "Shrek" period -- change him much. In his return to the big screen, with the self-help-inspired comedy "The Love Guru, " Myers proves again that he'll go to more elaborate lengths than anyone in showbiz for the sake of a good wee-wee joke.

A character actor in the literal sense, Myers has always reveled (and excelled) in creating and inhabiting oddball personae who all seem to require the use of facial prostheses, building worlds around them to showcase his brand of energetic and fearlessly juvenile humor.

That served him well in six years on "Saturday Night Live." It served him well in his "Austin Powers" spy spoofs. And he's at it again in "The Love Guru, " in which he plays a relationship coach with a ZZ Top beard, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's shirt and a series of mantras and catchphrases all his own, such as his salutation/blessing, "Mariska Hargitay."

Clearly, this is eye-of-the-beholder-type comedy. Plucking the low-hanging comedic fruit of the self-help world likely won't help him win fans and influence people, but the already-converted members of the cult of Myers -- those who delight in seeing him mug and dance and giggle like a schoolgirl -- will have their moments of bliss.

For those without a tolerance for a good deal of sheer foolishness between the genuinely funny punch lines, however, it's more a case study in how to lose an audience in 10 easy minutes without really trying.

There's a plot in there somewhere -- something about ice hockey, Oprah Winfrey and a chastity belt -- but plots aren't the thing in Mike Myers movies. They're just vehicles for getting from one poop reference to another.

Here's a cross-eyed Ben Kingsley peeing in a pot to facilitate a game of "stink mop." (Cue laughter.) Here's 2-foot-8 actor Verne Troyer -- yes, Mini-Me from the "Austin Powers" movies -- blowing a snot rocket into a metal bucket. (Cue laughter.) Here are two elephants getting it on at center-ice during a Toronto Maple Leafs game. (Cue confused laughter.)

At least Myers has the good sense to keep "The Love Guru" condensed to a lean hour and a half, unlike some recent movies (cough, cough, "Zohan, " cough). It also boasts fun cameos, as well as some hoot-worthy Bollywood-inspired production numbers.

For Myers fans, or those looking for some solidly brainless fun, that's probably good enough. Others, however, if they really want some self-help, might pick a different movie.